Children of Artemis
by FestusGirl
Summary: When Maximus and Cassandra are attacked by a mysterious figure and have to escape the safety of their house, they find themselves at Camp Half-Blood. They must help Percy on his quest to find Zeus's Master Bolt in time for the summer solstice, and try to cope with new problems at the same time.
1. Prologue

**Beginning Notes**

This story is for **sketchywolf**. Again, thank you so much for the awesome idea, and your lovely oc's. I hope I don't disappoint.

And to everyone else, I hope you enjoy!

So yeah, unless otherwise stated, the oc's belong to **sketchywolf**, and the rest to Rick Riordan. Let's begin!

* * *

Once upon a time, a boy so pure was born from the goddess of the hearth, Hestia. His name was Oliver Snow.

Oliver was a gorgeous baby and grew up to be a handsome young man. He was the kindest person to walk the earth, and his smile could warm even a frozen heart.

Of course he attracted a lot of attention. Even the goddess of the hunt, Artemis herself, couldn't help but take interst in him.

And one day when Oliver was walking in the woods, she went up to him.

'Good afternoon Oliver Snow,' she said.

Oliver smiled, and lightly bowed to her. 'My Lady, Artemis, what brings you to me?'

'Can't I come say hello? You're walking in my forest after all,' Artemis said, returning his smile.

'Why of course, My Lady, I admire you, so I enjoy taking afternoon strolls in your forest.'

'That is lovely to hear.'

'But I take it you would prefer me to leave, My Lady?'

'Why would you think that dear?'

'Because of your oath, My Lady,' Oliver told her.

'My oath has nothing to do with men walking in my forest. Besides, I am allowed to make a friendly chat with them,' Artemis explained.

'It was lovely meeting you, Artemis, but I think it's time for me to go.'

Artemis nodded, and disappeared into the woods, leaving Oliver to his afternoon stroll.

But she couldn't leave it there. This boy was unlike any other. So she came back: Every day, when Oliver went for a walk, she would go say hello.

And after a while, they became good friends.

One day, they were sitting at the lake, skipping stones, when Oliver looked at Artemis, a sad look in his eyes.

'What's wrong, Oliver?' she asked him.

'Don't you think our relationship is growing too close, My Lady?'

'Why yes, I will admit that, but you are one of a kind, Oliver, and I am willing to make an exception.'

'I'm sorry, but I don't want to be the reason you ever break your oath,' Oliver said, and got up.

'Oliver, wait, you don't understand!'

'I probably don't, but I shouldn't mistreat you, My Lady.'

'Oliver. You're not the first person who made me break my oath. It has happened twice before.'

'I know, I've heard the myths. I just don't want you to break it again,' Oliver explained, turning back to face her.

'How many times have the other gods broken their oaths and promises?'

'Many times, but that is not my business to interfere with, My Lady.'

'I know. But don't you think that in comparison, three is not bad. If it makes me happy?'

There were tears rolling down her cheeks. She wasn't ready to let him go. Not at all.

She cupped his face in her hands. 'Please.'

'Well, if you say it like that...' He smiled.

Their lips met in a soft, warm kiss.

'Just promise me, that as soon as problems arise, you'll let me go?' he asked.

'I promise, that if problems arise, I'll let you go,' Artemis said, still not sure if she ever would be ready to leave him. 'I promise.'

He leaned forward again, so that their lips could meet once more.

...

Artemis and Oliver kept their relationship hidden and secret, not even the Hunters of Artemis knew.

All was well, until one day, when Artemis discovered that she was pregnant.

She rushed to Oliver to tell him the news. He was happy and excited, but he knew that if anyone would know about it, he would be done for.

Artemis told her Hunters that she had to go on an important trip, and fled with Oliver to an forest, not yet discovered by mankind.

Unlike other goddesses, Artemis had to go through the whole nine month procedure of being pregnant, but she didn't mind, because Oliver supported her throughout it all, and never left her side unless necessary.

'Oliver, my dear, you know that I must leave you after I give birth?' she said one day.

'I know, but I will always love you, whether you are with me or not.'

'I will love you forever too.'

...

Then the time came. It was nine months later, and Artemis was ready to give birth.

That day two healthy children were born: Cassandra and Maximus Snow.

**End Notes**

Please review so I know what you guys thought! And a great thanks to my beta **lovelylittlelion**. Go check her out on AO3. Well, I guess I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Hope you guys have a great day or night. Byeee :)


	2. The Attack On The Snows

**Beginning Notes**

Okay, so I'm really excited, 'cause Tyrant's Tomb just arrived! I've _literally _been counting down the days. Gods, it's finally here, and so is this update! As always, oc's belong to **sketchywolf**, the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Cassandra**

A loud crash is heard outside the Snow residence. It's the fifth one in the last ten minutes.

'Dad, what's going on?' Cassandra asks her father.

'I don't know, but I do know this: It's time for you two to leave me,' he says, looking absolutely hurt.

'Dad, why?' Maximus complains.

Her father shakes his head, a tear silently rolling down his face.

'Please, Dad, you must have at least _an idea_ of what's going on,' Cassandra says, taking her father's hands.

'I do.'

'Well, what is it?'

'Your mother. She warned me for this before she left.'

'What is it? Dad, who is attacking us, _what _is attacking us?' Maximus demands.

'I... I don't know the details, all I know is that I need to get you two safe. C'mon.'

He leads them to the basement, where he moves the bookshelf to reveal a trap door. Cassandra can see a small triangle engraved in the wood.

Their father lifts up the trap door, and motions for them to go in.

Cassandra hesitates for a moment. 'You're coming with us, right?'

'Of course.'

She climbs down a dusty ladder that leads into an underground tunnel, where Maximus is waiting for them.

'Okay, tell us all you know Dad,' he says.

'Very well.'

They start walking, and he continues: 'I can't tell you everything yet, but you will get the information you want at camp.'

'Camp?' Cassandra asks.

'Yes, camp. It is a special summer camp where your mother told me to send you if this would happen.'

'_This._ What is this?' Maximus asks.

'An attack.'

'By what?'

'I don't know, I really don't,' their father says.

They keep walking, until the tunnel comes to an end.

'What now?' Maximus asks.

He doesn't get an answer, because their father is searching for something, his hands gliding past the walls, though the darkness.

After what seems like forever, he says: 'Ah, here it is!'

Sunlight comes pouring into the tunnel from above. There are rocks to climb up to the entrance. Cassandra starts climbing immediately.

After Maximus helps her up, he climbs after her. When he gets to the top, he looks down to his father standing in the illuminated tunnel. 'Dad, are you coming or what?'

'I'm so sorry,' he says. 'I love you both _so much_. Don't ever forget that.'

'Dad, no!' Cassandra shouts, before the rocks shift, closing the entrance and leaving her father behind.

'Max, what do we do?' she asks her brother, her face wet with tears.

He holds her close to him. 'I don't know Cassie, but we've got to move on.'

'You're right.'

They walked around aimlessly, for what felt like hours.

'Wait a minute,' Cassandra says. 'Are we... Oh for fuck's sake, we're back at the beginning.'

'Do you think we should call for help?' Max asks.

'Maybe, but what if those creepy attackers hear us?'

'Okay, maybe not then.'

Then she hears something. Maybe the rustling branches, or maybe an attacker, sneaking up on them 'Hey, what was that?' Cassandra asks, suddenly alarmed.

'What? I didn't hear anything.'

'Well, I sure did, and it's coming from there,' she says, pointing in the direction she meant.

'I... I think they're mumbling,' Max says, his forehead lined with concentration.

'They're? What do you mean?'

'I mean that I can hear people. And they're talking. Can't you hear them?' he asks confused.

She focusses on her hearing, and suddenly it's all a lot clearer. 'Yeah... Now that you say so. It _does _sound like mumbling.'

She closes her eyes, hoping that that will make her hearing even clearer. She can't really make out what they're saying, but she can hear that it's two people arguing. Maybe the attackers.

'Max, we've got to get out of this forest.'

'What?'

'The people, they're arguing.'

'Yeah, I heard that,' Max says, clearly not getting her message.

'Well, what if it's the attackers? What if one is complaining to the other about losing track of us?'

'Oh...'

'C'mon!' She grabs his wrist, and drags him away from the sound of the arguing people.

She runs, not even thinking about where they're going, holding on to Max's wrist for dear life. She can't be separated from him too.

Some twigs and branches hit her face, but she doesn't care.

They run, and run, and run. And then suddenly, they come to a clearing, and they slow to a walk.

Cassandra looks around her, taking it all in for a moment. This must be the summer camp her father had been talking about.

There are cabins, a volleyball field, a climbing wall, beautiful strawberry fields, something that looks like an arena, and kids.

'Do you think...' Max says. He doesn't even need to finish his sentence, for Cassandra already knew what he was thinking.

'Yeah. I bet this is where Dad wanted us to go.'

'Hey, are you guys new? I don't think I've seen you two here before,' someone asks.

It's a boy with black hair and sea-green eyes. And Cassandra could swear she'd seen him before. She just couldn't remember _where_.

'Uh, yeah,' Cassandra says.

'Oh, follow me, I'll bring you guys to our camp director.'

She also remembered is voice, but she couldn't place it with a memory.

'By the way, my name's-'

'Percy,' Max finishes for him.

'Yeah, how'd you know? Do you already know what you are? Have you heard of me?'

'No,' Max and Cassandra say at the same time.

'Then how...' Percy stops walking, and looks at them confused.

'From primary school,' Max says.

_Oh, yeah. _Of course. She sees it now. How could she not remember? He was their best friend. But then again, it was about seven years ago that they last saw him. Before they got homeschooled by their father.

It's silent for a while, as Percy looks at them.

'... Max? Cassie? Is it really you?'

'The one and only,' Cassandra says.

'I can't believe this is happening,' Percy says, grinning widely.

'What is happening?' she asks.

'You'll see,' Percy says mysteriously. 'First of all: Welcome to Camp Half-Blood!'

**End Notes**

So yeah, not sure whether I should call this chapter short, or average yet. Anyways, I hope to update as soon as possible. Fingers crossed. And go check my awesome beta **lovelylittlelion **out on AO3. Okay, have a great day guys! Byeee :)


	3. A Camp For Half Gods

**Beginning Notes**

I'm back. That's right! Back at it again. As always, oc's belong to **sketchywolf**, the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Maximus**

Maximus still can't quite process what's going on. First, they got attacked, then they lost their dad, and now they found their best friend from when they were five at a random summer camp.

'So, uh, do we like have to pay for this summer camp?' he asks.

Percy lets out a laugh. 'Pay? Of course not! It's not like we chose this to happen.'

'Yeah, about that, you're being pretty mysterious. Can we please get some answers?' Cassandra asks.

'You'll get them in a minute, I just need to get Chiron and Mr. D. I'm kind of new too.'

'Chiron,' she repeats. 'Hey Max, don't you feel like we've heard that somewhere before?'

Maximus thinks about it for a moment. She was right. He probably heard it in one of their homeschool lessons. Maybe history.

They get to a big, blue barn house, and walk inside.

'Hey, Chiron, we've got some visitors,' Percy says.

A man in a wheelchair comes rolling into the room. 'Visitors?'

'Well, yeah, I guess you could say that,' Maximus says.

'Did a satyr bring them?' the man asks Percy.

'I don't know sir, I found them in the forest.'

Cassandra is mumbling to herself, but Maximus can't quite hear what she's saying.

'What is it Cassie?' he asks.

'Chiron, satyr, I swear, it's something we've talked about in homeschool with Dad,' she answers.

'I know, maybe it was history.'

'Greek?' the man suggests.

Maximus still hasn't quite figured it out when Cassie says:

'Of course! Chiron, the centaur who trained some of the greatest heroes, like Achilles and Jason. And satyrs, animals of nature, half goat, half human.'

'Oh, yeah!' Maximus says, only now remembering. 'So I take it you're Chiron?'

The man in the wheelchair nods.

'I don't mean to be rude, but where's...?' Cassie asks.

'My other half? Hidden in the wheelchair, this is my mortal disguise,' Chiron explains.

'Oh... So, wait... If you're real, does that mean that Kronos is real too? And the gods? And all the other mythological beings?' Maximus asks.

'Unfortunately, yes,' Percy says. 'I mean, it's not unfortunate that my dad is Poseidon, that's pretty cool, but the monsters are... not that cool.'

Maximus takes a deep breath. 'Okay, so since all of this is real, please explain. WHAT IS GOING ON?'

'Okay... I'll be going now, I'll leave this up to you Chiron. Bye!' And with that, Percy is gone.

Chiron shakes his head lightly. 'So, as you might have noticed, mythological beings are real. And you two have come here, because you're demigods,' he starts.

Maximus thought about that for a moment. _Demigods. Demi-gods. Half-gods. We're half gods?_

Cassie must have come to the same conclusion as him, for they both say that last part at the same time.

'Yes. And I heard you two were homeschooled by your father?'

They both nod.

'Ah, then that must mean that your mother is a Greek goddess.'

Maximus' eyes widen in surprise. He realizes that it could be true. Their mother _had _left them almost right after she gave birth. But still. Half gods? That was a bit hard for him to take in.

He looks at Cassie, but she just shrugs.

'This is not abnormal,' Chiron says.

Maximus tries to look like he's not shocked, but he doesn't really think it's working.

'Sometimes, the gods have children with mortals, like you two. They're called demigods, or half-bloods. And this is a special camp where you can train and learn to use your powers.'

'But who is our mother?' Cassie asks.

That's not quite the first thing Maximus would have said, he thinks. There's too much going on inside his head at the moment.

'That is uncertain. Until you are claimed by your parent, nobody really knows.'

'So you know our mother is a Greek goddess, you just don't know which one?' Maximus asks.

'Exactly.'

...

Chiron shows them around the camp, but Maximus can't focus on anything he's saying.

All those years he wished to be special like all his favorite heroes from his favorite books, and now it was real. But he wasn't so sure he actually liked it that much.

He puts his hands in the pockets of his black hunting jacket, one of the things their mother left behind.

What if there was a war, and they had to fight in it? It all seemed so cool, but now? Now he's not really sure what to think of all this.

'Max, you okay?' Cassie asks.

'Yeah...' he lies.

'Sure?'

'Sure.'

When Chiron is finished with the tour, Percy and a blond, athletic looking girl walk over to them.

'So, what do you guys think?' Percy asks.

'It's something to get used to,' Cassie says.

'I don't know. I mean, it's cool and everything, but I just don't know if I'm ready to fight monsters and stuff,' Maximus admits.

'I totally understand, I ran away from home when I was seven,' the blond girl says. 'Oh, I'm Annabeth by the way.'

'Nice to meet you,' Maximus says, giving her a smile.

When he looks at Cassie, she's rolling her eyes at Annabeth.

'Hey, Cassie?' he asks.

'Hm?' she says, looking at him.

Their silver eyes meet, and he knows something is going on.

'Oh, you just looked like you were going to fall asleep,' he says, hoping that his save sounds convincing enough.

'Yeah, I'm really tired,' Cassie plays along.

'Maybe you two should get some rest before dinner,' Annabeth suggests.

'But we don't know who our mother is, so how are we supposed to know what our cabin is?' Maximus asks.

'About that, until you get claimed, you usually stay in the Hermes cabin, since Hermes is you know, god of travelling,' Percy explains. 'C'mon, I'll show you guys.'

The walk to the Hermes cabin.

'Sis, what's going on?'

'Nothing,' Cassie says.

Maximus knows she's lying. The way she looked at Annabeth, that's not the way you look at someone you just met when nothing is going on.

'Cassie,' he tries again.

'I'll tell you later.'

He nods.

They enter the Hermes cabin, and are overwhelmed by everything that's inside:

The cabin is packed with demigods, and there are spare mattresses everywhere.

A tall blond guy walks over to them.

'Hey, Percy!' he says. 'What's up?'

'Hey, Luke! You know how I got claimed and left you guys behind?'

'Yeah, you got a whole fucking cabin to yourself.'

'Yep! And lucky you, I found you _two _newbies to hang around with,' Percy jokes.

The guy, Luke, looks over at them and nods for them to come in.

'Okay, so, as you can see, it's pretty busy in here, but try to feel at home 'kay? We don't bite,' Luke jokes.

'But where are we supposed to sleep?' Maximus asks. He can't spot a free mattress, let alone two.

'We'll make it fit,' Luke says. 'What are your names?'

'Maximus.'

Cassie doesn't answer at first, so Maximus looks over at her and lifts an eyebrow.

'... Cassandra,' she says, eventually.

Then Luke whistles, which gets everyone's attention. 'Alright you guys, let's welcome Maximus and Cassandra to the gang!'

Everyone cheers, and Maximus can't help but smile. Maybe being a half-blood isn't too bad at all. If it means he can hang out and make some friends, and maybe get to learn how to use cool powers. That would be dope.

...

After dinner, when everyone is at the campfire, Maximus stays in the Hermes cabin. He needs to talk to Cassie. Alone.

'Hey, Cassie, what's it with the side-eyeing everyone?' he asks.

They're sitting on their mattresses- somehow there was still room for two more- and Maximus is looking at Cassie.

'Nothing.'

'Cassie, please. I know it's not nothing.'

Cassie is silent for a while, then she finally looks up at Maximus. She shakes her blond bangs- she only dyed those, the rest of her hair was still auburn- from her face.

'I don't know. I just don't like them,' she says.

'Who?'

'Annabeth. How she just randomly says she ran away. And Luke...'

'Okay, yeah, Annabeth is a little annoying, but she's still nice. But what's wrong with Luke. He seems like such a genuinely good guy,' Maximus says.

'I don't trust him. He gives me bad vibes,' Cassie says, looking around her, as if checking if nobody else is listening.

'He gives you bad vibes?' he asks her disbelievingly.

'Yeah. Every time he's near, my gut is just yelling at me to run,' she explains.

'Maybe your gut is wrong?'

'My gut is always right.' Cassie then gets up to leave.

Maximus sighs. He really doesn't want things to change between them, just because they discovered that they're demigods.

**End Notes**

Well, that was that. So yeah, I guess I'll see y'all in the next chapter. And go check out my awesome beta **lovelylittlelion** on AO3. Okay, byeee :)


	4. More Broken Oaths

**Beginning Notes**

Okay, so here's a pre-warning. Next week Friday my test week starts, so I won't be able to update anything then, and I don't think I'll be able to update the next few days, because I need to study. *sigh*. But after that I finally have a week of holidays, so... that's nice. Anyways, oc's belong to **sketchywolf**, and the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Cassandra**

Cassandra just woke up screaming. She had had a nightmare about lightning striking, and setting the whole world on fire. Everyone dying. Everyone she loves: Max, her dad, Percy, all the animals.

'Cassie, what's wrong?' Max asks. He's rubbing his eyes, like she just woke him up. Which she probably did.

'Nightmares,' she says.

'C'mere.'

She crawls onto his mattress, and he puts his arms around her.

'It's okay, they're just nightmares, they're not real,' he says.

She finds his words very comforting, even though she has a strange feeling that the dream was real.

When she looks outside, she can see the beginning of the sun rising.

'I'm going to go for a walk,' she says, getting up.

Max nods, and lies down again. He probably wants some more sleep.

The air is fresh, and when Cassandra takes a deep breath through her nose, she almost instantly feels awake.

She walks through the forest for a bit until the sun is almost completely visible on the horizon.

'It's the boy's fault!' she suddenly hears.

There must be something wrong. Who else would be walking in the forest at this time of day?

'Well, you know, he can't help it that he was born, you know?' another voice says.

'Who's there?' Cassandra asks. 'Reveal yourself!'

Even though her voice sounded loud and clear, she's quivering, hoping that it's not a monster.

'Why, it's just us, dear,' comes the answer.

'Where are you?'

'Up in the tree darling.'

Cassandra looked up, and there were an owl and a squirrel sitting it the tree. Looking down at her. She frowned.

'Don't look so confused dear, we know you can hear us,' the squirrel says.

'But... I don't... I- I mean, animals...' Cassandra stutters.

'Don't speak? Ha! Those petty humans. Thinking we don't speak. They just don't understand us. See, you can. And you can communicate with us,' the owl explains.

'Okay, so I'm not hallucinating?'

'Nope,'

'But what were you talking about?'

Of course Cassandra wants to know. Maybe talking to the animals could get her information. On what she didn't know, but information was usually good.

'You see, Athena has been ranting on how Poseidon broke his oath, and now Olympus is a mess. Zeus is angry at Poseidon, Poseidon is angry at Zeus, Ares is just angry, and apparently Hades just confirmed that his helmet was stolen. Which he blamed on Zeus, because Zeus blamed him for a lot of things, but he said that it was Poseidon's son, who stole the master bolt, which I totally agree with-

'Wait, wait, wait. Could you maybe talk slower?' Cassandra says, cutting off the owl's story.

'Hon, owls don't talk. And I can't 'talk slower', this normal speed,' the owl complained.

'Okay, fine, squirrel, would you please tell me what's going on. But slower.'

'Of course darling. So Olympus is all over the place, because everyone is blaming each other for stealing and breaking oaths. But the biggest problem, at the moment, is Zeus's master bolt. Apparently it is missing, and nobody knows who stole it. But since Poseidon just claimed his son, the _rumour_,' the squirrel says, eyeing the owl, 'is that either he, or his son stole it.'

Cassandra nods. So something is wrong with Zeus, god of lightning, and king of Olympus. Maybe that was what her dream was about. Zeus unleashing his anger because his master bolt was stolen.

'How do you know all this?' she asks surprised.

The squirrel and the owl look at each other.

'George and Martha,' they both say.

'And Athena,' the owl adds.

'Who and... Okay, you know what? Never mind. Thanks, guys.'

'No problem dear.'

She then walks back to camp hoping that Chiron can do something with this information.

...

Cassandra decides to not tell Chiron immediately, but to wait a little, and maybe get more information.

But by the time it's almost afternoon, her gut is telling her to go; to not wait any longer. And she can never ignore her gut feelings, so she decides to go to the Big House.

'Um, Chiron?' she asks.

He's talking to some other strange dude, who is sitting at a desk drinking Coke.

'Um, sorry to disturb you, but I have some information,' she tries again, walking up to the two men.

'Ah, Cassandra. Yes, what is it?' Chiron asks.

'Wait, another newbie? Isn't that other one, the Big Three kid enough?' the other man complains.

'D, stop it,' Chiron tells the man. 'Yes, you had news?' he says, turning back to Cassandra.

'So, there's something going on, on Olympus. Zeus's master bolt is missing.'

Chiron looks at her sternly. Even the other man is now listening.

'How do you know this?' Chiron asks her gently.

'Well, I was walking in the forest, and then an owl and a squirrel, they started talking, it was pretty weird, but okay. They said that everyone on Olympus was blaming each other and that Zeus had lost his master bolt,' she explains.

'You talked to animals?' the other man asks, arching his eyebrows. 'Are you sure you don't have goat legs?'

'She ignored him and continued: 'And I've been having these bad dreams, well, it was only one, but I think it was about Zeus's wrath, and-'

'Cassandra, I think you need to join Percy in the attic, we just sent him there to get his prophecy for the quest,' Chiron says.

'Quest?'

'No time to explain, just go!'

Cassandra does as he says, and goes to the attic.

When she gets there, Percy is standing in front of a weird mummified lady, wearing a tie-dyed dress.

Percy looks behind him, when Cassandra walks towards him, making a floorboard creak.

'Cassie?'

'Chiron sent me. He said I had to join you in getting the prophecy for the quest,' she explains.

'You know about it?'

'Not quite, Chiron said I didn't have time to ask questions but to come up here and...' She doesn't finish her sentence, for there is green smoke billowing around them.

She looked at Percy, and saw him take a deep breath.

He stepped forward and asked the mummy-lady: 'What is my destiny?'

...

When Cassandra and Percy came back from the attic with the creepy mummy-lady, they went straight to Chiron to tell him the prophecy.

'And?' he asks.

Cassandra looks at Percy, and he starts with the first line:

_'You shall go west, and face the god who's turned.'_

Cassandra then recites the second line, Percy the third and Cassandra the last again, until the prophecy is complete:

_You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned_.

_You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend_.

_And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end_.

'What does it mean?' Cassandra asks.

'I don't know. But that is the whole point of prophecies,' Chiron says. 'Sometimes they have double meanings. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass.'

'Okay. But where do we go? Who is this god in the west?' Percy asks.

'Zeus and Poseidon are fighting right?' Cassandra asks.

'Yes.'

'So that means the third would try to take advantage of this, to overtake them. The third brother, the god in the west. It's Hades.'

'So, now what?' Percy asks. 'We go to Hades and ask him if he by any chance stole the master bolt. As if that's going to end well. Why can't we just tell Zeus, so he can go get it himself, since Hades just tried to kill me three times in the past few days.'

'Hades tried to kill you?' Cassandra asks.

Percy nods. 'He sent his minions after me.'

Chiron sighed. 'Percy, knowing and suspecting are different things. Besides, the gods can only cross each other's territory on invitation. Heroes, on the other hand, can go wherever they want.'

'So that's what we do? Go to the Underworld and confront Hades?' Cassandra asks, wondering how that was even possible without dying.

'Yes. But you will need help, and a satyr to guide you.'

...

When Percy and Cassandra left the Big House, a boy was waiting outside for them.

'And?' he asks Percy.

'We were assigned a quest,' Percy explains.

'We?'

Cassandra steps forward a little. 'Yeah. I got sent too.'

'Okay, but-'

'Grover, it doesn't matter, we have until the summer solstice and I need all the help I can get, so I'm glad I don't have to lead this quest alone,' Percy says.

Cassandra smiles. Even though she's new, and has no clue what is going on, Percy appreciates her help. It makes her feel less of an outsider.

'C'mon Percy, we need to find a satyr to guide us,' she says.

'I think we already found him. Grover, will you help us on our quest to find Zeus's stolen master bolt?'

Grover seems a little uncomfortable, but he says: 'Of course I'll help you.'

'You sure?' Cassandra asks. She doesn't want to drag anyone into doing things they don't want to do.

Grover nods. 'Yeah I'm sure. I'm your best friend after all,' he says, the last part to Percy.

Cassandra goes to pack up her stuff- which is barely anything, just some spare camp shirts and some food and water- and goes back to the Big House.

'Chiron?'

'Yes Cassandra,' he says. Chiron is now walking around in his centaur form, which is quite a shock for Cassandra, since she's never seen him in anything else besides the wheelchair.

She notices that she's staring in awe, and shakes her head lightly, hoping it will get her focus back.

'You told us we needed help, right?'

'Why yes, I did.'

'I can't leave Max. Is it possible for him to help me and Percy on the quest?'

Chiron thinks about it. 'But three is the usual number for a quest,' he says.

'Isn't that for a usual quest? Assigned to one person?' She _has _to try it, even if she has no clue about 'usual quests'. She can't leave her brother behind. Never.

'Yes, that is quite right. I think you might need some more help with this quest. Go get your brother.'

She does as she's told.

When she finds Max, she tells him everything as quickly as possible, and he immediately gets his stuff as well.

Then they go up to Half-blood Hill, to meet up with Percy and Grover, and leave for the quest.

...

Chiron is waiting there too.

'I have some good news, someone has offered their assistance to this quest,' he says.

Annabeth comes forward.

Percy sighs, and Cassandra rolls her eyes.

'Well, do you want my help or not?' Annabeth asks.

'Yes, fine! Now let's not waste any more time, and get going. We have a deadline!' Cassandra says.

'Good luck,' Chiron says. Just before he is about to turn away, his expression turns shocked.

'Oh, my gods,' says Grover.

'But... that's not possible...' Annabeth says.

'What's going on?' Max asks confused. He sounds scared.

Cassandra was wondering the exact same thing, for she saw what the others were looking at; A symbol was glowing above his head, and as it appeared, above hers too.

It was a silver moon, the symbol of Artemis.

**End Notes**

Dun dun duuuuuun! Okay, so they're being claimed. That's cool. Go check out my awesome beta **lovelylittlelion **on AO3, and I guess I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Byeee :)


	5. Bus Fights

**Beginning Notes**

I'm so sorry for leaving you guys this long! At least test week is over, and I have a whole week free, so I hope so update a lot. _Hope._ I don't have anything else planned, so yeah... Let's all hope for the best :) Anyways, OC's belong to **sketchywolf**, and the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Maximus**

Everyone is staring at him and Cassie.

'Hello? What's going on?' Maximus asks again.

There is a glowing silver moon symbol hanging above Cassie's head, and by the looks on everyone's faces, probably above his too.

'You're being claimed,' Chiron says, hesitantly. 'But, something must be wrong.'

'What? What is wrong?' Maximus asks. He wants answers, because he's scared. Scared that something bad might happen to him, or worse, to Cassie.

'Well, you see,' Annabeth starts after the glowing symbol disappears from Cassie's head. 'You two were claimed by Artemis, but...'

'But what?'

'But she... Gods, how do I explain this?'

'Didn't Artemis swear against men or something?' Cassie asks.

'Yes, Artemis swore against men, and romantic love, making her an eternal maiden,' Chiron explains.

'Why did she claim us then?' Maximus asks confused.

'I... I don't know,' Chiron says. 'But we mustn't dwell on this too long, you have a quest to start.'

'Right, the quest,' Percy says. 'C'mon gang, we gotta go. We'll find answers to that when we get back.'

'If we get back,' the other boy- Maximus believes his name is Grover- mumbles.

...

As it turned out, there was a bus that was going to take them to New Jersey. What were they supposed to do after that? Maximus had no clue, all he knew was that they were supposed to go to the Underworld and get Zeus's master bolt.

'So, uh, what's the plan?' he asks.

It's raining, and Percy, Grover and Annabeth are throwing apples at each other. He'd wanted to join in, but Cassie was eyeing Annabeth suspiciously.

'The plan?' Cassie says.

'Yeah, the plan,' Maximus repeats.

'Well, we need to get to Los Angeles to go to the Underworld apparently. So, we take this bus to New Jersey, get to LA somehow from there, find Hades, get the master bolt, and be done with this quest.'

'That's the plan?' Maximus has never heard a vaguer plan in his life.

'Well, I don't know, I guess we're supposed to make a better plan on the way, but as of now, we can't make specific plans, because we have too little information,' Cassie says.

'Okay.'

Then the bus arrives. They board it, and when they sit down, Annabeth whispers something to Percy.

Maximus looks at his sister. Cassie just shrugs.

'_Di immortales,' _Grover says.

'What?' Cassie asks him.

Grover nudges his head towards three old ladies sitting further at the front.

Maximus has no clue what's supposed to be so bad, but he gets bad vibes immediately.

'What?' Cassie asks again, now turning to Maximus.

'They're evil,' he says. He has no other way to put it. They're just... evil.

'Those old ladies? How can they be evil?'

'Look,' Percy points out.

Maximus sees what he means: The ladies on the isle make an X with their legs. Very subtle, but it gives a clear message to anyone who might think of them as evil. _Nobody gets out._

Cassie finally gets it. 'Oh...'

'Yeah, we gotta get off this bus,' Maximus says.

_Bad ladies. Evil ladies. Bad vibes. Evil. Evil. Evil. _It's all he can think of. His mind is only set to how evil these ladies are.

'The windows don't open, there's no back exit, we've discussed this already. We're trapped with the Furies,' Annabeth says.

Furies. Somehow Maximus knows exactly what they are. And he had been right from the start: these three are almost the definition of evil.

'But, they can't... they won't attack us with all these witnesses?' Percy asks. 'Right?'

'I'm not sure, Percy, the mortals might not see anything through the Mist,' Annabeth explains.

'The Mist?' Maximus and Cassie asks.

'Yeah, it keeps the mortals from seeing anything they shouldn't see.'

'But surely they'd be able to see three demons murdering us. Maybe they'd only see them as old ladies, but they'd see the murder part right?' Maximus asks.

'I don't know, maybe, but-' Annabeth stops mid-sentence, for everything had gone dark. They are in a tunnel.

Maximus can feel his heart beat faster and faster, because he's scared of the dark, and he knows what will happen next:

The demons will attack, and they'd have no way out. And if the mortals wouldn't even notice anything because of the Mist...

Before he knows it, the old ladies, who had transformed into their true form, are standing around them, and Percy had disappeared.

'Where is he?' one of the Furies asks.

'He's not here,' Annabeth says.

Then suddenly, the bus swerves. The Furies are thrown to one side, and everyone starts screaming.

The bus exits the tunnel, and light enters it again, so now everyone can see the wonders of what is happening: They're slamming through all the other cars, crashing into anything that gets in the way.

Then, when they finally come to a very abrupt stop, the Furies get up again.

Just a few seconds ago, Maximus had had a little bit of hope, but it is all gone again, when the demons bare their sharp teeth at them.

'Hey!' someone at the front of the bus yells at them.

Maximus is relieved, and terrified at the same time.

Relieved because the demons were no longer focused on him, but terrified, because they were now planning on murdering Percy, and it was three against one.

Percy took out a pen and uncapped it, and it turned into a bronze sword.

The Furies hissed at him, but there was no way he could win this.

Annabeth has a knife, Percy has a sword, and Grover has a tin can (though Maximus has no clue as to how that could defeat the Furies), but he and Cassie are unarmed.

That's when he sees the broken window.

As swiftly as possible, he moves over to the window and breaks off a big, sharp piece of glass.

He notices that Cassie has picked up a long piece of metal from the ground, and is wielding it as a sword as best as she can. Where she'd gotten it, he had no idea, but they had found something just in time, because that's when the Furies attack.

Percy starts slashing at them with his sword, and Cassie and Annabeth run over to help him.

Grover hesitates for a moment, but then runs into the battle too.

Maximus isn't sure what to do. All he has is a piece of glass to protect himself.

But when he sees Cassie get hit with one of the Furies' whip lashes, he attacks immediately.

He runs at the demon, and jumps onto a chair, and from the chair onto the demon's neck.

From there he is able to stab the Fury in the eye with the piece of glass, making it screech in frustration.

It tries to throw him off, but he strangles it, trying to stay on it's neck.

When he looks around, he can see that one Fury gets turned to dust by Percy, and the other was stuck, tied in its own whip.

'Max!' he can hear Annabeth shout.

When he looks her way, he can see her holding her knife, ready to throw it. He immediately gets the message: _Keep that demon still._

He pokes the Fury in the other eye with his finger. It doesn't do anything, but the Fury closes it as a reflex. Of course, the other eye still has the piece of glass in it, so now the demon isn't able to see anything until it opens its eye.

This gives Annabeth a free shot at the Fury without is being able to notice the blade flying it's way.

The knife finds a home deep in the Fury's chest, turning it to dust.

Maximus falls to the floor, but gets up immediately, grabbing Annabeth's knife, because Cassie had yelled: 'C'mon, we have to get out of here! Now!'

Even the mortals know she's right.

Everyone gets out and tries to find cover, just as the bus explodes.

**End Notes**

"Guys, we just exploded a bus!" Okay, sorry, had to do that. Well, that was that. And again, I'M SORRY FOR BEING AWAY FOR TWO WEEKS! I'll try to make up to it by posting a much as I can this holiday (I mean, it's only a week, but whatever, I can do loads in a week). So yeah, go check out my beta **lovelylittlelion **on AO3, and I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Byeee :)


	6. A House Full of Creepy Screaming Statues

**Beginning Notes**

**FoxHound98**: _Well we all know that you are going make Max Cassies little puppy dog a second charater. Eh this is not a good fics._

I have a simple life hack for that. I call it: _Just Leave_. If you don't like my fic, leave. There's no point in wasting your time reading it without enjoying it, and it's definitely useless to comment on how stupid it is if you don't have any good advice on how I could improve.

So please, to any of you who are somehow still here, and have no satisfaction in reading this- or any other fic for that matter, whether that be mine, or someone else's- just leave. Simple as that. Thank you.

Sorry about all that. Anyways, just as I'd promised: here's another chapter this week. Hope y'all enjoy, OC's belong to **sketchywolf**, the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Cassandra**

_This sucks_, is the first thing that comes to Cassandra's mind.

She, Max, Percy, Annabeth and Grover are stuck in the middle of nowhere, not even _near_ LA, with no stuff, since everything exploded, and no shelter.

'Well, this is just_ awesome,' _she complains.

'Cas...' Max tries, but doesn't finish. He probably thinks about this the same, but just doesn't want it to get in the way.

'Okay, maybe we should find somewhere to eat,' Percy suggests.

'But we don't have any money,' Annabeth reminds him.

Cassandra sighs. 'Or any idea where we are.'

They walk around for what feels like hours.

That's until they get to a two way-street, and on the opposite side, is a weird little shop, with neon signs, and the smell of food.

'Guys,' Max says, pointing at it, but everyone was already looking at it, since, you know, big neon signs attract quite some attention when you're in the middle of nowhere.

'What does it say?' Percy asks.

'I don't know,' Annabeth says.

Cassandra squints at the bright letters, but she can't make anything of it.

She and Max had never really been that great at reading, but she didn't know it was this bad.

'Aunty... something, something, something, garden, something,' Max tries.

'Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium,' Grover says. 'Honestly, I know you guys are dyslexic, but five words can't be that hard?'

'We're dyslexic?' Cassandra asks, but saying it out loud makes her feel stupid. Grover's obviously right, she couldn't even read a damn sign. 'Yeah, okay, that makes sense.'

Max is already starting to cross the street. 'Come on, it smells like food.'

Percy and Annabeth start to follow him, but Cassandra is a little hesitant. It just seems weird to just walk into a weird shop that sells _gnomes_, saying it smells like food.

She looks at Grover, who doesn't seem set on going there at all either.

'I don't know guys,' he says, but the others don't listen.

'Let's just... stay sharp, and make sure nothing happens, something seems sketchy about that place,' Cassandra tells Grover, before crossing the street herself.

When she gets closer to the shop, she realises that her stomach is growling, and that it actually _does_ smell like food.

_No, Cassie. _She tells herself. She promised Grover to stay sharp and keep a lookout for the others. If she lets herself get brainwashed too, Grover might not be able to help all of them.

'Snack bar,' Percy says.

'Snack bar,' Max and Annabeth agree when they get there.

'They've gone mad,' Cassandra whispers to Grover.

'Yeah, this place is weird, I don't think we should go inside,' Grover says. 'Guys, it smells like monsters, let's not go inside- great. They just went inside.'

He looks at Cassandra with a worried look.

'Well, they're definitely not going to notice the monsters if we don't point them out to them, c'mon.'

She takes Grover by the hand, and drags him inside.

There are statues everywhere, and of everything: a chicken, an old man, a child and a dog, even a satyr.

That apparently creeps Grover out, because he bleats and says: 'That looks like Uncle Ferdinand.'

Cassandra raises an eyebrow at him.

'Hello?' a woman asks.

She is wearing a long, black dress, and her whole head is covered by a veil. Even her face was unrecognizable.

This makes Cassandra even more suspicious. Of course there are very religious people that cover a lot of their skin, but who covers everything except their hands?

'My dears, it is too late to be walking around alone. Where are your parents?' the woman asks.

'Uh, we... um,' Max stutters.

'We're orphans,' Percy says.

'Orphans?'

'Uh, yeah, we were on a field trip, for the orphanage, but the bus, um, it crashed, and we needed to find gas station to call help,' Cassandra says, playing along with the lie.

'Oh, darling, that's horrible. Come on, there is a dining area in the back of the warehouse, I bet you are all very hungry. Maybe you could eat a bit, while I try to find my phone so you can call for help, yes?' the woman says.

'Yeah!' Percy says, already making his way to the back.

'Guys...' Grover tries again, but to no avail, since the smell of food is very strong here.

Cassandra has to drag him behind her again, for he is whimpering, glued to the spot.

'Cassandra, we need to leave, something here feels very off,' he says.

'I know, my gut is screaming for me to leave, but there's no way they'll want to leave, can't you smell the hamburgers?'

'No, all I smell is monster. Cassandra, we need to leave. Now.'

'Agreed.'

But when she looks around her, the others are already out of sight.

'Where are we?' she asks Grover.

'I don't know, you we're the one dragging me around.'

'Yeah, well... I... I kind of don't know where I went,' Cassandra admits. 'Did you remember how we walked? Because I honestly didn't.'

'No, I was focused on all these creepy statues. Why does it look like they're screaming?' Grover asks anxiously.

'I don't know, maybe that's Aunty Em's thing, beautiful statues that scream.'

'Yeah, but look, they're all life-size. And really realistic, and look like they're afraid for their lives.'

It's silent for a while, wile they both think about what Grover just said.

'Wait a minute... What was the myth about that monster turning people to stone?' Cassandra asks.

'You mean Medusa?'

'Yeah, that one!'

Cassandra thinks about it for a moment.

'Medusa... Medusa... Medusa...' she says, as if repeating it will make the myth come back to her.

'She turned people to stone by looking at them, because she was so ugly,' Grover explains.

'Medusa... Me- Oh my gods.'

'You think...?

'Medusa, Aunty Em, M, the letter. And all these creepy, screaming statues. You were right Grover, we shouldn't have come here in the first place.'

'We've got to go warn the others before-'

A loud crash is heard from a room to their left.

'... It's too late,' Grover finishes.

'Damn, I should have listened to my gut. Come on!' Cassandra yells, and runs through a corridor, hoping it will lead them to their friends.

'Don't look at her!' she can hear Annabeth shout.

Another crash.

'Wait!' Grover hissed.

'What?'

'You can't just run in like that, you don't know where she'll be.'

'Right, but what-' Cassandra is about to ask, when she sees something shimmer in her peripheral vision.

She turns to look at it. In the hand of the statue she's now facing, is a little mirror. The girl was probably checking her hair or her makeup before she was petrified. What a coincidence.

Cassandra walks over to the statue, and tries to take the mirror, but it's firmly stuck in the hand of stone.

'_Maia!' _says Grover, but before Cassandra can figure out why he said that, he's kicking off of the ground, and flying towards the statue.

He kicks it at the hand, and it breaks on the impact. Cassandra lets it crash to the ground and then picks up the mirror from the broken pieces of stone.

'Let's go!'

Grover stays as high as possible, and sniffs the air every few seconds, probably navigating his why by smell.

Cassandra follows the sound of his flapping shoes, and keeps her eyes steady on the ground.

Grover sniffs the air again, and says: 'Here.'

Then Cassandra turns around, and looks in the mirror, holding it a little above her shoulder, so she can see what's going on behind her.

The mirror is old and rusty, but she can clearly see the scene:

Percy is waving his sword around at Medusa like a madman, his eyes shut tight. Max is standing still, ready to punch anything that comes near him, and Annabeth is nowhere to be seen.

_What if she'd been turned to stone?_

Then suddenly, a voice behind her says: 'Pssst, Cassie!'

Cassandra spins around to see... no one?

'Who are you?' she asks.

'It's me,' Annabeth says, appearing in front of her eyes out of thin air.

'How... How did you do that?'

'Magic hat, makes you invisible.' she holds up the hat for Cassandra to see. 'It was a gift from my mum.'

'Oh.' Cassandra thinks back to all of her and Max's birthdays, when she'd asked her dad if Mummy would ever come to wish them a happy birthday. _'I don't darling, but I _do_ know that your mother is proud of how wonderful you two have become. You're the light in my life.' _

'Anyway, we need a plan, because I can't hurt Medusa without going right up to her, and looking at her, and that would turn me to stone,' Annabeth continues.

'You got anything?'

'Well, in the myth, Perseus defeats Medusa by cutting off her head, but I don't see how that's going to work right now.'

'He had a sword and a glass ball, or a mirror, or something like that right?'

'Yeah, but I don't think-'

Cassie interrupts her by holding up the rusty mirror she'd found. 'Let's recreate the myth then.'

'Awesome! Okay, you and Grover create a diversion, so I can get this to Percy.'

Cassie hands the mirror over to Annabeth, who turns invisible immediately.

'C'mon,' says Grover.

He flies away, and starts bleating: 'Bahahaha! You murdered Uncle Ferdinand!'

Cassandra closes her eyes tightly and runs after him, hoping she won't trip over anything.

'Over here snake-face!' she yells

'Ah, so that's where my other two darlings went, open your eyes my dears, there's nothing to be afraid of,' Medusa answers.

Her voice is so soothing and mesmerizing, that Cassandra almost feels tempted to listen.

'But what if I'm blind, and can't open my eyes, that would be a very rude thing to say,' Cassandra says.

'Well, then I guess I'll have to kill you in another way,' Medusa hisses, her voice very close now.

Cassandra knows that if Medusa attacks her with those sharp talons she saw, there's no way to defend herself.

But suddenly Medusa shrieks. 'AAAAH! Get off me you nasty goat, or your fate will end the same way as your uncle!'

Cassandra has no idea what is going on, and therefore doesn't realize Medusa will turn to her again when she hears a thud and Grover groan. The impact shocks her, and so do the talons, sticking in her shoulder. She screams, and tries to hit Medusa- even though she knows it will do very little harm- but it's no use, since she can't see her opponent.

Then someone yells: 'Cassie, duck!'

Medusa must also be surprised by this, for she loosens her grip, and Cassandra practically falls to the ground. She hears the _SSHHINK!_ of a sword slicing through something, and then a thud, as what she expects is Medusa's head hitting the floor.

'Don't look at it directly, even her severed head can petrify you,' Annabeth warns.

'Hey, can I open my eyes again?' Max asks.

'Yep!' says Percy.

Cassandra also opens her eyes.

Percy is holding a weird shaped lump of cloth, Annabeth is visible again, Grover is getting up from a pile of rubble, and Max is running over towards them.

Cassandra tries to get up, but winces at the pain stabbing her shoulder.

Max helps her up. 'C'mon, let's get out of here. I've seen enough creepy statues to last me a lifetime.'

'Percy, what are you-' Annabeth says, but Percy interrupts her.

'I'll be back in a sec.'

'Where's he going?' Max asks.

Annabeth and Grover shrug.

They all wait for a few minutes, until Percy comes back with a box. He puts the head in the box, and fills out a delivery slip.

'Percy, I don't think they're going to like that,' Grover says.

Cassandra leans onto Max for support and reads over Grover's shoulder:

_The Gods_

_Mount Olympus_

_600th floor_

_Empire State Building_

_New York, NY_

_With best wishes,_

_Percy Jackson._

Cassandra manages to let out a laugh. 'Nope, they definitely won't.'

**End Notes**

Gods, it's been so long since I actually read The Lightning Thief. And I'll honestly admit that I kind of forgot why they needed to "take a bus to Los Angeles". Yeah, sorry, been listening to the musical a lot lately. If you haven't, my advice is: go waste an hour on listening to those musical songs, it's worth it. And you can trust my word for it, because I'm not a full on musical-geek, so when I say that some musical songs are worth it, I mean it.

Also, should I change the chapter names from _chapter 1, chapter 2, _to _insert funny name__? _I mean, they won't be as funny as Uncle Rick's (I'm no writing master), but I can do my best.

Anyways, go check out my beta **lovelylittlelion **on Archive Of Our Own, and I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Byeee :)


	7. Max Visits Delos

**Beginning Notes**

Sorry for not updating in a while. I decided to enjoy the last few days of my holliday, and then school started again, but it's fine. I'm back with another update, and I hope y'all enjoy. OC's belong to **sketchywolf**, the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Maximus**

It was a pretty miserable night in Maximus's opinion. Since all their food had been blown up, they had to take some food from the back of Aunty Em's- Medusa's really- house, but there wasn't that much seeing as they were with five people.

They camped out in the woods, but it wasn't really warm either, because starting a fire might attract attention, and they'd had enough of monsters for one day.

'I'll take first watch,' says Percy.

'You sure?' Cassie asks.

'Yeah, I need to clear my mind a bit. Besides, I don't think I'm in the mood to sleep.'

Maximus didn't need to be told twice, he was exhausted.

'C'mon, Cassie,' he says, leads her to a big tree.

They sit down together, their backs against the tree's trunk, their heads resting together.

Maximus puts an arm around his sister, hoping to keep her warm, and also wanting to feel her presence in the dark.

His eyes slowly droop shut, until sleep takes over his body.

In his dream he is on an island, surrounded by beautiful flowers. In the midst of it all, sat a girl.

He walks over to her, and at first he thinks it's Cassie, with her long auburn hair woven in a braid. And when she looks at him, she has Cassie's round, silver eyes. But then she smiles, and it's not like Cassie's smile. She also has a bow and quiver lying at her side. A weapon Cassie has never even touched before.

Then it suddenly comes to him:

'Mum?' he asks.

'Maximus, my darling, you've grown up so handsome,' Artemis says.

'Why are you here? What are you doing in my dream? My dream that feels so real...'

'Sometimes this is the only way to contact our kids,' Artemis explains. 'And there was something that I wanted to tell you.'

'Wait, but if this is the only way you can contact me...' Maximus couldn't finish his sentence, for his throat felt tight. He'd thought that since discovering who their mother is, he could maybe see her in person, talk to her, and spend some long-lost time with her if he was lucky. That _maybe_ he'd finally have a mum. Even if she wasn't there at all times, she'd be there when he needed her.

'No, no, at some certain times, is what I meant. Like now, I can't just leave my Hunters and tell them I'm going to see my son, so I have to contact you through dreams.'

'Why, what was it that you needed to tell me?'

'Just a few tips that might help you on the way,' Artemis says, with a soft smile.

'Such as?'

'Those hair clips your father always made you wear. Do you still have them?'

'Yes,' Maximus says. Obviously they still have them. It was something that Dad had given them as a birthday present when they turned seven.

_'Thanks Daddy, but these are just ordinary hair clips,' _Cassie had said.

_'Yes, but they will protect you, and as long as you have them, nothing could ever happen to you,' _Dad then said.

'Good,' says Artemis. 'Because they are special Hunters bows, and it would be very dangerous to let them fall into the wrong hands.'

It took a moment for Maximus to take in what his mother just said. 'Wait, bows? As in...?'

'Yes. Just like that pen that that Jackson kid keeps in his pocket. Unclip it, and it will turn into a bow, it's matching quiver magically appearing on your back. The arrows will always return, but not immediately, so don't think you have an infinity of arrows. There will be a point where your quiver will be empty,' Artemis warns him.

'Wow! But why are you only telling me this now? Why not the night before we were attacked? We could definitely have used something to protect us then.'

'Because it wasn't the right time.'

'Wasn't the right time? It's not even a week later! And now Dad is either lost underground, captured, or worse! You could have at least helped us you know. Dad might be dead!' At that last part, Maximus break down, tears falling from his cheeks. Saying it out loud finally made the sink in.

'Maximus...'

'No!' You could have saved him! You loved him didn't you?'

'Maximus-'

But he didn't hear what she was going to say, because someone shakes him awake.

'Max, are you okay?' It's Cassie. 'You were shaking, and trembling really bad.'

'Yeah, I'm fine,' he says, even though he can still feel the tinge of anger at his mother, for leaving them, burning in the back of his throat.

'You sure?'

'Yeah, just a bit shaken from yesterday.'

Cassie nods like she understands.

'Where are the others?' Maximus asks.

'Annabeth's taking watch, Percy is sleeping over there, and Grover is in that tree, but I think he's awake.'

A figure floats out of the tree, making a soft flapping noise.

Grover lands in front of them and says: 'Yeah, I'm awake.'

Suddenly a creature jumps out of the bushes, and Maximus jumps back with a yelp. The dark always makes everything a lot more scary than it really is, Because the creature is a poodle.

_'Yap!' _it barks.

'Hi,' Grover and Cassie say back.

Maximus frowns. 'What did... wait... can you guys...?'

The poodle yaps a bit more, and Grover and Cassie nod, as if they're listening to it telling them a story. Only then does Maximus notice that it's not just any poodle. It's a _pink _poodle.

'Max, this is Gladiola. She ran away from her family,' Cassie explains.

'How do you know that?' he asks confused.

'Because she just told us. Didn't you... Couldn't you understand?'

'Um... No? When have I ever been able to talk to pink poodles?'

'Oh... I thought maybe you could do it too. At camp, I discovered that I could talk to animals. I thought it might be an Artemis thing.'

'Maybe. Maybe I just didn't get it, but you did.'

'C'mon guys, Gladiola's going to help us go west,' Grover says, following the poodle to were Annabeth is keeping watch.

Maximus looks at Cassie, who shrugs, so he shrugs back, and they walk over to the others.

'You found a pink poodle?' Annabeth asks quizzically.

'Well, Gladiola found us,' Grover says.

'You named her Gladiola?'

'No, she told us her name,' Cassie explains.

Annabeth frown at them, and Maximus puts his hand in the air, trying to tell her that he doesn't get it either.

'_Yap yap_!'

'She ran away from her family, and there's a two-hundred dollar reward for anyone who finds her,' Grover translates.

_'Yap!'_

'And she wants us to take her back, so we can get the reward.' This time it's Cassie who explains it. 'Wait didn't you run away because you didn't like your owners?'

_'Yap!'_

'You'd do that for us?' Grover asks.

At this moment, Maximus has no clue what the conversation was about, so he asks: 'So, what's the plan?'

'We take Gladiola back to her family, receive the money, and go west,' Grover explains.

'Maybe we should wake up Percy first,' Annabeth says.

Then Gladiola waddles over to Percy, who is lying on the ground, snoring, and starts _yap-yap-yapping _right in his ear.

Percy jolts up immediately, his hands clamped over his ears.

'Ah, what the heck? What was that?'

'Our ride west,' Grover says amused.

**End Notes**

Isn't it wonderful when pink poodles jump out of nowhere and help you get two-hundred dollars? Wish they'd do that more often, it always makes me so happy to see them. Okay, just kidding. I mean, it would be dope if pink poodle just did that on a regular basis, but I guess you can't have everything. (Besides, it's not like American dollars are any use in the Netherlands...)

So, since I haven't been active lately, I've decided to make a compromise: I'm going to be naming the chapters! I can't guarantee they'll be as perfect as Uncle Rick's, so if you disagree with me on one of the chapter names and have a better idea, let me know, and I'll see if I'd like to change it.

Anyways, go check out my beta **lovelylittlelion** on Archive Of Our Own, and I'll see y'all in the next chapter. Hope you guys have a great day, byeee :)


	8. The Mother of Monsters Is An Echidna?

**Beginning Notes**

So... It's been a while. Let's not talk about that okay? I just got stuck, was unmotivated, and school you know? I hope this is a good enough excuse. Also, from here the story is going to be unbetaed (is that how you spell it? Wow, everything is going wrong already) because my beta **lovelylittlelion** has a lot on their mind so I didn't want to bother them.

OC's belong to **sketchywolf**, the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Cassandra**

'Max, you okay?' Cassandra asks her brother. They were able to catch a train west thanks to Gladiola's prize money. 'You look a bit pale,' she explains.

'Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine,' Max answers. It's silent for a little, but then he sighs. 'No, actually I'm not.'

'What's wrong?'

'Mum. I... She- Last night, I was dreaming, but I think it might have been real. Mum sent me a message.'

Cassandra stared at him in awe. 'Are you serious?'

'No, I'm Remus.'

She leans over to slap his arm. 'Stop it with the Harry Potter jokes.'

Max lets out a short laugh. 'Sorry.'

Just as Max is about to explain what had happened in his dream, Percy mutters: 'Oh, no...'

'What?' Grover asks.

'Nothing, it's nothing, really.' He tries to close the newspaper he was reading, but Annabeth snatches it from him.

'What does it say?' Cassandra asks, curious.

'Basically, that Percy's step father has set a reward for anyone who finds him, and where he was last seen, that was when we exploded the bus. But don't worry, the mortal police won't find us,' Annabeth turns to Percy at the last part.

Percy nods, though he doesn't look entirely sure about what Annabeth said.

Cassandra looks at Max again. 'You were saying?'

'Oh right! My dream.'

'Dream? Max, did you have it too?' Percy asks.

'What do you mean?'

'The- the dream, about the evil voice in the pit?'

Max shakes his head. 'My mum sent me a message in my dream.'

'What did she say?' Annabeth asks.

'She told me about our hairclips, and how they're special Hunter bows, but then we got in an argument, and she was about to tell me something, but then Cassie shook me awake.'

'You got in an argument?' Annabeth asks.

'Yeah, about Dad.'

'Wait, wait, wait!' Cassandra says. 'Hunter bows?'

'Yeah, supposedly our clips are supposed to turn into bows.'

Cassandra reaches for the silver clip in her hair, but Grover gets up immediately and grabs her wrist before she could do so.

'Not here,' he hisses.

'Sorry.'

'But what was the argument about?' Annabeth asks.

'I told you, it was about my dad. But it doesn't matter.'

The rest of the trip was pretty quiet.

...

After almost two days on the train, they pulled into the station at Amtrak.

'Cassie, Cassie get up.' It was Percy.

'Hmm?'

'We have to wait three hours before the train leaves again, and Annabeth wants to see the Gateway Arch,' he explains.

Cassandra rubs her eyes, sleepily. 'Mmm... okay...'

She gets up and follows Percy out of the train and onto the platform, where Max, Annabeth and Grover are waiting for them.

'C'mon,' Annabeth says, practically bouncing with excitement.

'You look like a little kid on Christmas,' Cassandra remarks.

'Well, duh. It's the Gateway Arch. And I really want to see it.'

'Come on Cassie, it'll be fun,' Max says. 'We've barely ever seen anything besides the woods we lived in.'

'You're right,' Cassandra says grinning. Now was her chance to see something of the world besides trees.

On their way to the Arch, Grover buys some jelly beans, and Annabeth tells them all there is to know about the Arch.

'Percy, are you alright?' Max asks.

Cassandra sees what he means; Percy is very jumpy and looks a bit nervous.

'Yeah, I'm just a little claustrophobic.'

Cassandra looks at the small elevator they're supposed to take up the Arch. 'Oh...'

'No, it's fine.'

Grover lifts an eyebrow at him. 'You sure?'

'Yeah, I'm sure, you got any blue jelly beans left?'

Grover nods, and hands him some.

There was only room for four people in a car, so Cassandra decides to go in a separate one with Max.

The ride is pleasant and quite nice, since it was just the two of them in a car. She'd seen some lady step into the one where Percy, Grover and Annabeth were, and is secretly glad that she doesn't have to share a car with some strangers.

When they get to the top, Annabeth is telling Percy and Grover about what she'd have done if she had built the Arch.

'Just image how much cooler it would have been if the floor was see-through! Oh, and I would have made the windows a bit bigger, and-'

'Ladies and gentlemen, the observation deck will be closing in a few minutes,' a park ranger announces.

'Bummer, it's so nice up here,' Max sighs.

Cassandra smiles at him. 'Don't worry, now that we're not stuck in the woods anymore, we can go visit places, and see more things, yeah?'

'I just wish Dad was here...'

Then Percy calls: 'Guys come on, we're leaving!'

Cassandra grabs Max's wrist and drags him back to the elevator car. Before she gets in, she takes a quick look around, just to keep the memory as fresh as possible. Then she feels Max tapping her shoulder.

'Um, Cassie.'

She looks at him, and his eyes are as big as saucepans.

'What?'

'That,' Percy says, nudging his head to something that definitely wasn't there before: It's a huge beast, so big, that its back is against the ceiling. Cassandra has no clue what the beast could be, because it has the head of a lion, the body of a goat and a serpent for a tail.

'What is that?' Cassandra whimpers.

'I- I don't know...'

The beast is foaming at its mouth, and has its gaze tightly fixed on the three of them. The few people who were still on the observation deck are all crowded in a corner, screaming.

'Be honoured, demigods, for I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!' a woman says. Except it's not just a woman. Cassandra recognises her as the lady that was in the car with Percy, Grover and Annabeth, but now her pupils are slit, like a reptile, and her rolled up sleeves reveal scaly, green arms. She grins at them, showing off her white fangs.

'S-sorry, you don't re-really look like an echidna to me,' Max stutters, to which Cassandra snorts. Even in the strangest situations, Max can speak his mind.

'Damn those Australians! I'm not _an_ echidna, I am _The Echidna_, Mother of Monsters! I can't believe they named that stupid little creature after me. Now, where were we? Right, destroying little heroes. Let's see how funny everything still is for you after my Chimera kills you.'

The beast- or, well, Chimera, Cassandra now knows, growls, and she can see it's ready to pounce.

When it attacks, they all dodge. Cassandra and Percy jump to the left, and Max to the right. The beast turns, focusing on Percy and Cassandra. She can see Max, helping the other people escape through the emergency exit, but that way she isn't focusing on the main problem that is the Chimera.

It opens its mouth, flames bursting from it. Percy is already out of the way, and Cassandra only just notices on time, sliding past the flames. She's barely able to get up before the beast is about to attack again.

'Oi! Over here ugly!' she hears Max yell.

The Chimera turns, to where Max is standing. He's suddenly holding a shining silver bow, a quiver full of deadly looking arrows slung over his back. The clip! Cassandra reaches for her hairclip, and takes it out. She wipes her bleached bangs out of her eyes, and indeed, she too is now holding a silver bow.

'Wow,' she mutters.

Max shoots an arrow, and it lands in the Chimera's eye, making it roar, sending out another wave of flames. Cassandra hadn't even noticed that the flames were toxic until now, because half the building is melted.

Percy jumps, swinging his sword at the Chimera, but it bounces off its armor. Echidna is in the background, laughing evilly, as she watches her monster destroy everything.

While Max and Percy are trying to fight off the Chimera, Cassandra grabs an arrow and send it flying towards Echidna. Cassandra expects it to sink deep into the snake lady's throat, but then she catches it out of midair.

'You half-bloods, always thinking you're so smart. She starts walking over towards Cassandra, not looking at what's going on with her monster anymore. 'You think that just because your parents rule, you have incredible power too, but that's now true. You're weak, little half-blood!' Echidna snarls.

Cassandra is starting to panic. Echidna may not seem as intimidating compared to the Chimera, but Cassandra is sure she wouldn't be able to defeat her in a hand to hand combat. Yet, Echidna is taking her time walking over to her, grinning evilly.

Cassandra looks around her, hoping to find something to defeat the evil snake lady with. Everything seems hopeless, until she spots a pile of melted, toxic goo near her feet.

She hears Echidna laugh. 'There's absolutely nothing you can do demigod, just accept your defeat!'

'Never.'

She then shoots three arrows at once in a high arch. Echidna follows them with her eyes, and snatches them out of the air with ease, first both of her hands and her mouth, all at the same time. But, while Echidna is distracted, catching the arrows, Cassandra bends down, dipping another arrow in the goo, before shooting it as quickly as she can.

Echidna chuckles and slaps the arrow away, making the goo splatter all over her face. Her grins disappears, followed by a screech as her face slowly melts, before she completely turns to dust.

Cassandra stares in shock of what she just did.

'Cassie!' Max's voice shakes her back to reality. 'Cassandra!'

She looks over to where he's standing, panting, and covered in monster dust. 'Max!' She runs over to him, embracing him in a hug. 'Max, you were amazing, the way you shot the beast in its eye, and- wait... where's Percy?' The other boy is nowhere to be seen.

'He- I- um... t-the monster.' Cassandra can feel how badly he's shaking.

'Hey, Max, look at me. Take a deep breath, okay?'

They sit down on the floor as Max takes a moment to breathe. Then he explains what had happened: 'I blinded the monster, and then Percy told me to distract it, so he could safely run under it's stomach and stab it from there. But we'd totally forgotten about the snake tail, and it bit him, and then he fell into the Mississippi, and-'

'Wait,' Cassandra cuts him off, 'he fell into the Mississippi?'

Max nods, and points to where the flames had first melted a hole in the building. 'There.'

'What do we do now?' she asks him.

'I don't know. We should go back and tell Annabeth and Grover, they're probably wondering where we are.'

Cassandra gasps. She'd almost forgotten about them, the shock of having fought a monster still fresh in her mind. She tries to get up, but her legs give way to exhaustion. 'Max, I don't think-'

Before she can finish her sentence, he wraps his arms around her again, helping her up. 'C'mon, let's go find the others.'

**End Notes**

I'm so sorry for being away for like forever, but here's a longer chapter than usual to make up for that. I hope to see you guys soon with another chapter, have a great day! Byeee :)


	9. The Cons of Blowing Up The Gateway Arch

**Beginning Notes**

I'm hoping I can finish this fic without disappearing for a while like I did, but I'm pretty bad with long chaptered fics, and I'm working on two... so we'll see how it goes.

OC's belong to **sketchywolf**, the rest to Rick Riordan.

* * *

**Maximus**

When they get back down, Annabeth and Grover are still there, worried looks on their faces.

'Annabeth! Grover! Over here!' Maximus yells, from where he and Cassie are leaving the emergency exit.

'Oh, thank the gods you guys are okay- where's Percy?' Annabeth asks, before she can even finish her first sentence.

'He fell into the Mississippi, I don't know if he's okay, or...' Maximus tries, but he feels the words die in his mouth. He doesn't want to accept Percy's fate, especially since he could have saved him. It was all his fault.

He sighs, and let's go of his sister, so she can sit down and rest. Then he looks around to see what's going on. The Arch is completely destroyed, and there are police officers and news reporters everywhere.

'The surveillance cameras show three children, setting off what seems to be a freak explosion, I know, it's hard to believe, but that's all the footage there is before the camera's were broken,' a woman is saying. 'Luckily, there were no fatalities, and-' Maximus stops listening, because he can't stand hearing the woman talk about how there were no fatalities, while Percy's body might be floating somewhere in the Mississippi River.

He kicks some of the fallen rubble at his feet, trying to distract his mind from everything that happened in the last half an hour or so.

'Hey, when does the train leave again?' he asks, hoping that will get everyone's mind back on track.

'In about thirty minutes,' Annabeth answers.

They all sit around glumly, trying to process everything, when Grover suddenly bleats.

'Percy!'

Maximus looks up, and indeed, there he is.

Percy runs over to them with an 'Oh, I thought I'd never find you guys again!'

He explains what happened, and how a messenger had sent him a message on behalf of his father.

'But that's not important right now, what happened to Echidna? And the Chimera?'

'Chimera?' Annabeth exclaims.

_Oh, yeah, that's right, _Maximus thinks. They'd forgotten to tell Grover and Annabeth exactly _how_ they destroyed the Arch, after mentioning what had happened to Percy.

'That's what was going on up there,' he says. 'The lady with the chihuahua turned out to be the Mother of Monsters, and the chihuahua was a Chimera that was trying to kill us.'

'You didn't tell them?' Percy asks confused.

'We were too busy wondering if you were dead!' Annabeth yells, hitting him lightly on the arm.

'Okay, I'm sorry,' Percy says, putting his hands up in defense. 'But seriously, what else did I miss?'

'Um, let's see... Cassie fought off Echidna, and somehow turned both her and the Chimera into dust, then we had to make our way through the half malted emergency exit, and now we're here and there are news reporters everywhere,' Maximus sums up.

'And they're talking about you,' Grover adds.

'What?'

They all listen to what the woman who was talking earlier is saying: 'Channel Twelve has learned that that the boy who may have caused this explosion fits the description of a young man wanted by the authorities for a bus accident three days ago. His name is Percy Jackson, and for those of you who haven't heard about the bus incident, here is a picture of him. As for the two other children with him, it is unclear who they might be, but...'

'We've got to get out of here,' Cassandra mutters.

Maximus nods and helps her up again. 'C'mon, we need to get back to the train station.'

They swerve past a few people and hide behind a bush.

'There's people everywhere, how are we supposed to get out of here before someone spots us?' Grover asks.

'Annabeth, your hat,' Cassie says.

'What?'

'Your hat, give it to Percy. They haven't identified me and Max yet, so as long as no one sees Percy we should be fine.'

'Oh, right! Good thinking Cass.'

Maximus can see her giving Annabeth a small smile for probably the first time ever. Then Annabeth hands over her hat to Percy, who suddenly disappears.

'Wait, what happened? Where did he go?' Maximus asks. He'd swear Percy had been there a second ago.

'Magic hat,' Annabeth explains. 'It can turn you invisible.'

'And it works, so let's go! we can't miss the train,' Percy's hushed voice says, somewhere to Maximus' left.

...

They make it back to the station just in time before the train leaves, and as soon as they sit down, Cassie passes out.

'Is she okay?' Grover asks concerned.

'Yeah, she'll be fine. She's just tired. I mean, it was the first time we ever fought a monster so I don't blame her,' Maximus says, remembering how his sister single-handedly defeated Echidna.

Annabeth nods in agreement before turning to Percy. 'Now what did your father's message say?'

'Oh, right. Well, it said to go to Saint Monica, and...'

'And, what?' Maximus asks curiously.

'Oh, nothing.'

'Percy, you can't just ignore a message from your father, it might be important!' Grover tells him.

'Well, it said to not trust the gifts.'

'Gifts? What gifts?' Annabeth asks.

'I don't know, it didn't clarify. It just said to not trust them.'

They didn't talk much for the rest of the ride, and Maximus used the time to take a nap, and recharge his energy.

The train arrives in Denver the next afternoon, and they get off.

'So, what do we do now?' Cassie asks.

'I'm hungry,' Maximus says, feeling the growling in his stomach. Besides some jelly beans yesterday, he hadn't eaten anything since their encounter with Aunty Em.

'Me too,' Cassie agrees. 'Let's go see if we can find somewhere to eat.'

'I just need to speak with Chiron for a bit, but you guys go ahead, we'll meet up with you there,' Annabeth says.

'Wait, how will you know where we decided to go?'

'I don't think there's a lot of places to eat around here, and otherwise we'll meet up back here if we can't find each other within an hour okay?'

They agree to split up, just so that none of them would be able to get lost wandering on their own.

Maximus follows Cassie to the nearest restaurant and they sit down at a table for six.

'What do you think she needs to tell Chiron?' Maximus asks.

'Don't know. Don't really care to be honest,' Cassie remarks, while checking out the menu.

'What's it with you not liking Annabeth? You still haven't told me.'

Maximus looks straight at Cassie, who lets out a deep sigh.

'I don't know. She just seemed like that type I wouldn't want to be around. Definitely when she boasted about running away at seven years old. I just don't like her,' she explains.

_Maybe she's just jealous_, he thinks to himself. _But why though?_

'I'm not jealous, if that's what you're thinking.'

'No, I wasn't-' Maximus tries, wondering how she knew, but then Percy, Annabeth and Grover sit down with them.

'How'd it go?' he asks them.

'Chiron wasn't there, so we spoke to Luke instead,' Annabeth explains.

'What did he say?'

'Nothing important,' Percy says, as he takes a menu. 'Guys, how are we going to afford this? We don't have any money, remember?'

'Don't worry about that,' a man says. He's big and buff, and he's wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket. Maximus can tell by the look on his face that you should not mess with this man.

The man sits down at the last seat at their table and asks: 'Well, are you going to accept my offer or what?'

**End Notes**

Two chapters in one day! I'm really spoiling you guys huh? Just kidding, I'm still trying to make up for all that time I was gone. But I think this will be it for today. You might get another chapter tomorrow if you're lucky. Or if I'm feeling extremely generous, who knows. Anyways, I'll see you there, byeee :)


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